Edge City

In Thrall

13

MAY/17

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Genevieve went in to Precinct 13 to talk with Victor, who presented to the police captains the night before. His speech went alright, but he used his newfound memory ability to capture the reaction of various opinion leaders. Frustrated by the lack of immediate support, he mulled over how to continue his actions to minimize the need for police backing, while Genevieve advised patience and continued cultivation of the police leadership.

Kinslton and Burr went back to Mumford Block to see Dan and tell him about the snake infestation coming to the city, and how the snake people had an interest in Mumford Block, advising caution on his part. He agreed to be careful, and gave them a tour of the new Mumford Block. It will be amazing when it is constructed!

While at sea, Emma told Adrian she wanted him to anonymously rent one of those subdivided old houses the artists crash in for a Kingsport summer season so she could try being a bohemian artist (with all the readily available back-ups of wealth and security.) He agreed.

Lydia Resists

Increasingly uncomfortable with her Tchulza capacity, Lydia read up on how to restrain anything that might want to take over and make her into an avatar. After some unsatisfying reading about how Elder Signs discourage possession, she read that fortifying places of power was humanity’s strongest resistance (rather than portable talismans) and her natural abilities would undo many of the proscribed remedies as soon as she teleported.

She took her problem to Kinslton and Burr, and they used the Elder Sign and the Key of Solomon to experiment with slowing down her teleportation ability (and discovered Ladder Mike was sometimes lairing in the attic of Kinslton’s brownstone.)

As they approached the time when Lydia was planning to meet with Indigo, she decided that since he was exerting supernatural influence over her and opening the way to a darker future, she did not trust him and did not want to meet with him after all. Staying dormed down and meditating, she resisted the grief and panic she felt that propelled her towards him, gritting her teeth and staying put.

Kinslton called in Genevieve, and Anna called in Pellwitch, and they saw Lydia’s emotional state. Genevieve, Kinslton, and Adrian decided to go to where Indigo was expecting to meet Lydia and have a chat about how this was not okay.

A Talk in the Park

In a Downtown park, Indigo waited for Lydia and instead met her friends. They told him they were not okay with his emotional control of her, and he wanted to talk to Lydia about it. He agreed to release her in a month, but the process was not cold turkey or easy, and he needed to have that control a little while longer.

Thoroughly unimpressed by his disregard for Lydia’s consent, and possibly well-being, the tone shifted in a more hostile direction. Indigo appeared to feel some repressed anger towards Genevieve, and when Kinslton threatened to use magic on him if he damaged the brownstone, that really offended Indigo. Where Adrian threatened him should he bring harm to Lydia. They left him sitting in the park in the rain.

A Trip to an Island

They went to Besquelle and caught a speedboat out to Baron Kennedov’s island, where the ancient vampire met with them. He appeared to be in h is 50s, wearing a peculiar alien style of clothing.

Genevieve told him about Lydia, and the warpstone, and the Tchulza avatar risk, and swapping blood with Indigo. Kennedov seemed restrained, but upset. What was the connection? He admitted that he was somewhat involved, fifty years ago, in the events that led up to Irina Favian’s death.

The head of the Tchulza cult, Cora, wanted to insure against him, so she seduced Indigo. That could not stand, and she had to be dealt with, and Indigo has not forgiven him for that. Grudges and such are different for vampires than they are for mortals, and fifty years is not nearly enough time for something like that to cool down. There is an element of revenge here.

While he did not share the whole story, that was all Kennedov told them, and he vanished into his castle. Nick Fetch was there to escort them out, and to reinforce the idea that this was uglier than the vampires were letting on.

Take Me to Church

They talked with Fr. Abrams at Favian Church, and he agreed to offer shelter. They took Genevieve’s umbra road to the church, emerging through a mirror inside a panel van near the Great Seal. Abrams drove them in, introducing Su and Marie, novices the Order assigned to him for a while. He also got a .50 cal he used to kill a snake monster that attacked the church.

Burr and Anna went on a food run while everyone else settled in. Uncomfortable with the Great Seal and holy ground, Kinslton haunted a gazebo on the grounds, and as he flew patrol he saw Indigo standing by the road concentrating. When dawn approached, Indigo withdrew through the forest, then dropped through the stream into the earth to hide for the day.

Genevieve released Kissynose the enchanted bat skeleton, and Kryptma returned it before dawn, coming into the church having outclassed Su (who tried to hold her at gunpoint.) How can we deal with the blood bond Lydia endures? Well, Kennedov is probably a 6th generation, so Indigo would be 7th; that’s powerful stuff.

Three options came to mind; repeated maxing out of power to burn out the influence in quantum energy. Would that threaten the dimension, since she could be an avatar of Tchulza? She’s not far enough down that road, she isn’t connected to that much power, she’s not drawing it from the cairn, Kryptma thinks it would be safe. Second, a rage philter that would last for a dozen hours and let a rage beast fight the bonding beast; Lydia would be wounded and exhausted by the end, but they could keep her alive and it would be much easier for her to eject the winner in that supernatural tussle. Or, go to some cleansing pool in the Umbra and negotiate usage.